Title - Under the Same Sky
Size - 30.48 x 60.96 cm Medium - Acrylic paint on canvas Completion - December 2021 Exhibition TextUnder the Same Sky is a piece about connection to others, and how my experience with the people I know has helped me. The art was made with acrylic paint on a 30.48 x 60.96 cm canvas. Inspired by Pierre Bonnard, the piece utilizes some of his ideas of using vibrant colors to convey a feeling, instead of using accuracy. As a diptych, the two pieces are closely connected and build off one another to communicate that idea of togetherness.
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Inspiration
Pierre Bonnard
Bonnard was a French painter who was known for his use of bright colors. He often painted domestic scenes and landscapes, focusing on color moreso than accuracy. In Femmes Au Jardin, a series of four paintings are placed together. When I saw the paintings, I wanted to bring that use of soft and vibrant colors into my own work. There's also a focus on the landscape behind the women, and Bonnard uses flowing lines to add a sense of motion and rhythm. Most of the women have their faces looking away from the viewer, and are placed in the center of the paintings, with the first two including animals in the composition. My plan for my piece was to have some of the same composition and have my subjects be in the center. In The Window the painting is of the south of France, made in a rented apartment. The use of softer colors gives the piece an idyllic vibe. The focus is on the city outside of the window, and some of the objects near it, giving that balance of both inside and outside. |
Femmes Au Jardin
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The Window
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Planning
For my sketches, I drew my pose and thumbnails of the general idea I had in mind for the two paintings. In the second one, I wanted the city to be behind the figure, and for the figure to be vague. The figure itself is supposed to represent all of the people in my life, and not just one specific person. I wasn't sure as to how to show that connection, but I came up with a line, or swirl, to continue from the first to the second piece. I would use soft colors for the swirl to better convey positive emotions and a sense of peacefulness.
On my second page, I developed more of the specifics and drew my pose again with a more realistic style to test how it would look. For my background, I initially thought about doing a night background for the first and a day background for the second. This gave a night vs. day theme, but I scrapped it once I realized it didn't really contribute to what I was trying to do with the piece. After searching, I found that alstroemeria had a general meaning of bonds and friendship, and decided to incorporate that into my artwork. I drew bushes in the front, to give more positive space and make the composition interesting. |
The buildings in the second would have the one in front be darker than the one in the back. I thought making the building in the back be lighter would give a better effect to the piece. I also drew a close-up of the alstroemeria flower, to see how it was constructed and the components. I saw that there were usually three or four larger white leaves, and then the small leaves in the middle with pink, yellow, and reddish lines on them. The alstroemeria on the bottom left was a drawing of what the sort of plant border would look like. The border would balance the positive and negative space.
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Process & Experimentation
In class, we made our canvas by attaching the frames, stapling them, and then stretching the canvas. We used gesso on the canvas to tighten it and prepare it for painting. I started with freehand sketching my idea onto the canvas. I didn't use the grid method or a projector to trace, as I felt like I worked best by doing the sketch again rather than copying it. The grid method would take too much time to do. Then I started with painting in the skin, which I redid to more accurately portray my skin color. I painted the eyes in, and added a small dot of white to them as highlights.
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After painting the skin again and adding purple shadows to make it stand out more, I did the hair in a solid brown, tracing the general shape and coloring it in before adding more detail. The hair shine was made with a mixture of brown, orange and white to add a warmer color to the hair and be subtle. I brushed over the face some strands of hair. After that, I then went in with white, blue, and red for the collar, trying to make the shading light. I drew outlines for the collar to define it more, and then started on the sweater. I experimented with colors a bit and found that red and blue mixed together was able to get a purple dark enough to use for shading the sweater in and adding lines.
After having completed painting myself, I started with the bush and leaves of the flowers. I used green for the bush, and then green mixed with blue for the leaves and stems to give contrast with the bush. I painted the flowers white, used yellow for the bottoms of the petals, and added a bit of pink to the tops. For the lines, I just used red and orange for the stamen. Blending orange, pink and blue mixed with white for the sky, the swirl was then completed. I decided on blue, red and yellow for the colors as they went well together and wouldn't blend an unfortunate color.
After having completed painting myself, I started with the bush and leaves of the flowers. I used green for the bush, and then green mixed with blue for the leaves and stems to give contrast with the bush. I painted the flowers white, used yellow for the bottoms of the petals, and added a bit of pink to the tops. For the lines, I just used red and orange for the stamen. Blending orange, pink and blue mixed with white for the sky, the swirl was then completed. I decided on blue, red and yellow for the colors as they went well together and wouldn't blend an unfortunate color.
On my second piece, I continued the swirl and worked on the person in the center. I blended the colors with white and tried to define some of the person's features using contrast. Afterwards, I mixed purple and began to paint in the buildings. A bit of white for the building in the back and the bottom, and I was able to achieve the look I wanted. For the sky, I used a light blue and orange. I painted the entirety of the sky light blue, and then added the orange at the bottom. I blended the orange and blue, and fixed some parts of the head.
Critique
Similarities
Bonnard's piece and mines both have multiple artworks connected together. There's also the importance on the usage of color over accuracy, to convey ideas better. The subjects are both the center of the pieces, with nature being included in them, and the paintings are both vertically orientated. The people in the artwork are looking away from the viewer.
Differences
As for differences, Bonnard utilizes wavy lines to add a sense of motion to his pieces, while the lines in my piece tend to be more straight or rounded, with only the swirl of color being wavy lines similar to his. The pieces in Femmes au Jardin inclue animals and/or more than one person in the art, while mines only includes a single person in each piece. There's a city in the second painting of my piece, when in Bonnard's art, there is a lack of any structures and an exclusive focus on nature backgrounds.
Bonnard's piece and mines both have multiple artworks connected together. There's also the importance on the usage of color over accuracy, to convey ideas better. The subjects are both the center of the pieces, with nature being included in them, and the paintings are both vertically orientated. The people in the artwork are looking away from the viewer.
Differences
As for differences, Bonnard utilizes wavy lines to add a sense of motion to his pieces, while the lines in my piece tend to be more straight or rounded, with only the swirl of color being wavy lines similar to his. The pieces in Femmes au Jardin inclue animals and/or more than one person in the art, while mines only includes a single person in each piece. There's a city in the second painting of my piece, when in Bonnard's art, there is a lack of any structures and an exclusive focus on nature backgrounds.
Reflection
I believe I did alright with the painting for these pieces. I'm not confident in my skill in painting, but I was able to learn along the way and experiment with colors. My favorite part of painting was the swirls of color, since they remind me of watercolor in a way and I had the most fun with them. The swirls of color were also inspired by Bonnard's techniques. My least favorite part was the sky, because it was hard to blend the colors right and get the look I wanted. The biggest challenge, for me, was trying to make the painting neat. There were often times where my brushstroke ended up going too far, and I had to go back and fix the part that got painted on. Overall, I wanted to be able to portray that theme of connection with the swirl of color and by the meaning of the flowers framing the canvas. Diptychs are perfect for being able to convey that theme, since they're often connected together.
ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
I was influenced by Bonnard's use of color to bring a peaceful mood to the art, as well as the centering of the figure and the foliage in the background adding positive space. I also wanted to incorporate that focus on color and not on real-life accuracy.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Pierre Bonnard strayed away from having complete accuracy and instead focused on the importance of color in conveying emotion.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Bonnard's domestic scenes were enhanced by his use of color, and I realized how effectively he conveyed that peacefulness with his stylization.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was connection, and how all the people in my life have helped me to grow, whether I knew it or not at the time.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Pierre Bonnard had an unusual way of doing things, and it contributed to the way his artwork was made and the things he wanted to achieve in them.
I was influenced by Bonnard's use of color to bring a peaceful mood to the art, as well as the centering of the figure and the foliage in the background adding positive space. I also wanted to incorporate that focus on color and not on real-life accuracy.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Pierre Bonnard strayed away from having complete accuracy and instead focused on the importance of color in conveying emotion.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Bonnard's domestic scenes were enhanced by his use of color, and I realized how effectively he conveyed that peacefulness with his stylization.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was connection, and how all the people in my life have helped me to grow, whether I knew it or not at the time.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Pierre Bonnard had an unusual way of doing things, and it contributed to the way his artwork was made and the things he wanted to achieve in them.
Citations
“Pierre Bonnard Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, The Art Story Contributors, 5 Dec. 2014, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bonnard-pierre/.
“'The Window', Pierre Bonnard, 1925.” Tate, Dec. 2007, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bonnard-the-window-n04494.
“'The Window', Pierre Bonnard, 1925.” Tate, Dec. 2007, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bonnard-the-window-n04494.